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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be so furious with amazon

83 replies

SEmyarse · 24/02/2015 07:19

I rarely shop online but wanted to get dd1 an art set for her birthday, so used dh's account to buy one. While comparing items it popped up asking me if I would like a month's free trial with amazon prime. I didn't know what this meant so asked dh and he said to avoid it since a free trial will lead to ongoing hassle from them, so I immediately closed what i was looking at and avoided anything that had a prime logo against it.

The next day dh was annoyed because he got an email welcoming him to a free trial with amazon prime and wanted to know why I'd done it. But I didn't, it literally popped up when I clicked on one item and then I closed it a few minutes later without clicking on anything. We read the email in detail which just said about the free month and mentioned nothing of signing up properly, so he just said that he'd have to deal with any pestering correspondence when it came.

I have now discovered, a month later, that £79 has been taken from our bank account and dh has an email welcoming him to a year's worth of amazon prime. Seriously I feel like I've been mugged in the street! We did not agree to this at all. Can I do anything to stop it? I can't afford this at all and basically means the art set I bought cost £100!

OP posts:

bette06 · 24/02/2015 08:51

I'm not sure about Amazon Prime but Amazon have recently changed their delivery option charges but their charges are not at all clear on their website.

e.g:

On the delivery options page, some options have amounts of money next to the option and some don't - Some of the latter are, as you would assume, free delivery but some aren't and you can only find out later in the process that it has a charge.

When you select delivery by post (which no longer seems to be Royal Mail unfortunately), it automatically selects first class which they charge for.

On one of the final pages, it shows you on the right hand side of the page, a summary of all the items you're buying, their costs and the total costs but this doesn't include the postage costs - You have to click on an arrow below this to see it with the postage charges added in.

As a website-based company which obviously puts a lot of money into making their website user-friendly/easy to navigate etc in other ways, I think it's a bit naive to believe that this isn't a deliberate attempt to try to deceive customers. I'm not saying it's impossible to find out what the charges are but they are definitely not clear and Amazon has obviously made a deliberate decision to set their website up like this.

ScotsWhaHae · 24/02/2015 09:00

I don't understand all the hassle people are having with prime. I've had 2 free trials, cancelled straight after singing up and still had the month free. I've always found it clear.

countessmarkyabitch · 24/02/2015 09:31

It is very clear. People are just clicking on stuff without reading it properly and then getting pissed off that they are then meant to pay for what they signed up for.

CarlaVeloso · 24/02/2015 09:45

you go to their webpage and set it to send you an email a few days before they are due to take the money at the end of the trial ... so you can use it for the month then cancel before you pay...

Actually it's easier than that. No need to wait till near the end of the month's trial. You can do it on day 1 via your prime settings. You just click Do Not Upgrade. The wording does make it seem as though doing this will lose you the trial but it won't.

CarlaVeloso · 24/02/2015 09:47

Anyway, OP, you're sounding a bit ridiculous now. You're obviously not very computer literate, you clicked on something without checking carefully and now you've come unstuck.

It's not Amazon's fault, it's yours.

It can be fixed as lots of posters have explained. No need for a panic attack.

TheBooMonster · 24/02/2015 10:02

you should be able to cancel it and get your money back. I knowingly signed up to amazon prime, but then didn't actually make use of it for about 10 months, canceled it so that I wouldn't get charged for another years worth if I forgot closer tot he cut off, and because their record showed I'd not made use of it I got the whole cost of the years amazon prime back that I hadn't been expecting.

neverputasockinatoaster · 24/02/2015 10:04

I have noticed recently that the Amazon payment page has become a little unclear.
After you've decided to buy the 'do you want a free trial' page comes up and the 'no thank you' option has to be looked for carefully.
If you're not used to amazon I can see it might be misleading.
I know where it is and I still struggle to find it!

ObsidianEagle · 24/02/2015 10:05

i really don't understand how people manage to get caught out like this. the emails state VERY CLEARLY how to make sure you're not charged after the free month.

i always sign up for the free month, then immediately go and unsubscribe, because you still get the free month, but it doesn't charge you and at the end of the month it goes back to normal. its as easy as checking a box to make sure they don't take the money.

you really cant blame amazon for your own idiocy.

Samcro · 24/02/2015 10:06

big thanks to op for reminding me to make a not of when to cancel my membership. I do not want to pay £79

CiderwithBuda · 24/02/2015 10:10

That's a bit harsh Carla. The OP has said a few times she doesn't online shop often and is nervous of technology. I suspect her husband was a bit pissed of so she is feeling guilty too and people piling in and telling her she is sounding ridiculous won't help her.

OP - as others have said it is a common thing to happen. Even the most computer literate on here and on MoneySaving Expert have been caught out. I think Amazon have changed some settings etc and it is easier to sign up without realising. But it is easy to rectify. You can call them and explain and they will refund you.

CiderwithBuda · 24/02/2015 10:13

Actually now that I remember I took the free trial before xmas and I really don't think I got an email from them. I could be wrong. I knew from reading other threads on here that I would be charged so I put a reminder in my diary to cancel before the month was up.

SoupDragon · 24/02/2015 10:23

You can cancel the automatic sign up part of the Free Trial immediately, Buda. You still get the free month.

I think I've had 4 free trials now and have never signed up to the paid version.

merrymouse · 24/02/2015 10:24

I suspect the problem is that because the OP used her husband's account she didn't get the initial notification email and her husband ignored it.

cuphat · 24/02/2015 10:33

It is very easy to sign up with one click. For some reason my ipad now only lets me check out using the mobile version. And when going to pay there are two bars to click on; a yellow one to buy as normal and a blue bar to buy with free one day delivery as part of an amazon prime trial. I can see how it is easy to do (though I haven't done it myself as I do check carefully when paying for things).

However, I can't understand all the recent complaints about money being taken out. I took out a free trial last year and you can go into your account the minute after you've taken it up and change it so that it will expire after the month. It's very simple and there's no worrying about forgetting to do it.

middlings · 24/02/2015 11:25

OP, when did the money actually get paid?

Your thread reminded me that I needed to check if they charged me - they had on Feb 1st (my mistake, I forgot they were going to charge me then). I cancelled the membership immediately. Luckily, I hadn't used it since Feb 1 so they've refunded me in full.

Gruntfuttock · 24/02/2015 11:48

Amazon are very good. My daughter signed up for the free 1 month trial of Prime, but forgot to cancel when the month was up and got charged £79. Entirely her fault. However she contacted them, and as she hadn't ordered anything since the free trial ended, they refunded the £79 immediately.

GrandadGrumps · 24/02/2015 12:09

SEmyarse - your "avoiding anything that had a prime logo against it" is unnecessary. Those are just things available for next day delivery if you're a Prime member - buying them if you're not a Prime member doesn't sign you up for Prime. You're excluding yourself from most of the things you can buy from Amazon if you avoid things with the Prime logo on. As others have said, the Prime trial sign-up is usually at the delivery options stage of the checkout.

Feminine · 24/02/2015 12:20

And avoiding anything with a prime logo, kind of defeats buying anything from Amazon.
That is where the best deals are.
I can't believe Amazon is proving so difficult for so many of you...

Original poster

SEmyarse · 24/02/2015 14:17

I take on the chin that I've been ridiculous. I'm fully aware that my phobia of technology sends me into a tailspin, but I absolutely cannot accept that I didn't read something. I am completely obsessed with reading everything e.g. I have to read the entire leaflet when buying a new pack of paracetamol each time even though I know it will be identical to the last time.

I immediately shut down the whole computer when the prime thing first came up asking me if I wanted it, and then there was no reference again when I shopped while avoiding the logo. The thing I bought wasn't even guaranteed to arrive in time since I couldn't get anything with quick delivery without prime on it, but I was too scared to click on the other things.

The email was sent to my husbands account, but I read it and it didn't say anything about ongoing costs, just said my trial had started and explained what was included.

OP posts:

Feminine · 24/02/2015 14:26

SE
are you normally comfortable with the internet/computer? :)

Original poster

SEmyarse · 24/02/2015 14:57

No, very anxious

There's too much you can't see, and it weirds me out.

OP posts:

Flambola · 24/02/2015 15:09

It may well have been a glitch. I had to contact Amazon customer services on the 18th as I had been charged again for an item that had already been paid for and received on the 9th Feb. They were very good though, and I got the refund the next day. But it was only £5.60!

Gruntfuttock · 24/02/2015 15:21

SEmyarse, assuming you have good security on your computer, there's no need to be so scared.

middlings · 24/02/2015 15:29

If this all happened in the last couple of weeks and the Prime hasn't been used since, honestly, they'll give you your money back. Just cancel the membership and, in my case, it happened automatically! (although I did use their "live chat" function to confirm it - apparently I'll get the money back in a couple of business days. )

Agrestic · 24/02/2015 15:30

Bless you SE. Don't worry, this has happened to a lot of people. It could well have been a glitch. It can be sorted and you can be refunded. I'm sure you have some mega security on your computer, if not a good protection program might help you feel slightly more at ease?

What kind of things do you enjoy doing in your day to day life? Maybe we could recommend some good websites you might enjoy?

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